Washington, D.C.-based Children's National Hospital will host an innovation accelerator competition focused on developing new technology that addresses unmet pediatric needs.
The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation and MedTech innovator is accepting applications until April 22 for its annual "Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition, according to an April 5 press release.
Participants will make their first pitch on May 20 — with only six finalists selected from the first round advancing to earn participation in a special pediatric-focused track of the MedTech Innovator accelerator program that will begin in June.
Those same innovators will then participate in the competition finals taking place in the fall where judges will award up to $150,000 in FDA-sponsored grants to the devices selected as most impactful and commercially viable.
"As one of the five FDA Pediatric Device Consortia, NCC-PDI is focused on seeking out and addressing significant unmet needs in pediatric medical technology,” said Kolaleh Eskandanian, PhD, vice president and chief innovation officer at Children’s National Hospital and principal investigator of NCC-PDI. "While great advances are made in adult medical devices, children are often left behind because the pediatric market is small and there are not incentives to develop for pediatrics. This pitch competition helps to recognize and support the advancement of innovations that can specifically address the needs of pediatric patients."
The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation is led by the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National.